Thursday, July 4, 2013's Lowdown

Fourth of July, peeps! Yes, you could hole up in your fenced off backyard with illegal fireworks and explode the fruits of freedom that way. But if any part of your preferred American experience has to do with being a part of community perhaps you should do one of the following things:

Arcata: Get all patriotic on the Plaza with tons of street food, live tunes and artisan booths. There is no more difficult day of the year to try and see the Crabs play, so get to the Arcata Ballpark early if that's your plan.

Eureka: Old Town and the surrounding areas will be decked out in similar booth style as Arcata. Eureka has staked its claim as the fireworks king of Humboldt County, we hear local classic rock radio station KWPT The Point is in charge of providing the soundtrack to tonight's explosions. For those about to rock we … KABOOM!

Ferndale: The Victorian Village still goes all out for 'Mericas birthday -- i.e. parade down Main Street at noon, patriotic music at Ferndale Rep at 3 p.m., carnival at the Fairgrounds, smaller scale fireworks at night.

Benbow: Lower key event around the RV Park and Campground with fireworks in the evening at the State Recreation Area.

NoHum: The Elk Country RV Resort -- you know, by that red schoolhouse -- is hosting a day of horseshoes, balloon toss and little stuff like that. They promise a noon parade. Are the elk putting this on?

Fortuna: Do you know how patriotic Fortuna is? They couldn't even wait 'til the actual fourth and blew all their stuff up yesterday. The founding fathers would be proud.

As for your Lost Coast Outpost, we're gonna start they day off at the river. But we'll be hungry when we return. Invite us to your barbecue! We'll bring an acoustic guitar and sing "You're a Grand Ol' Flag!" That's a fair trade, right?